Abstract: Light is one of the environmental factors for the growth and development of higher fungi, which plays a significant role in the regulation of physiological cycle, morphogenesis and synthesis of metabolites. Advances of recent researches on the effects of light quality, light intensity and photoperiod on the growth of mycelia and the development of fruit body were summarized in this review paper.The effects and mechanism of light stimuli on the growth and development of higher fungi were also discussed.However, it still remains to be further studied on elaborating the light induction mechanism.